Don’t underestimate the value of a person sitting across the table

Till such time one encounters with an experience in line, cannot understand the value of authority sitting across the table. Your brand is firmly attached to every facet of your outward identity and everything that influences that influences the public’s impression of your working becomes a part of that identity. So it is vital that your brand remains both consistent and recognizable.

Many people underestimate the importance of bureaucrats who runs the whole show in the country despite the fact that Right To Information (RTI) Act has put a checkmate all the time especially on the decision taking authorities. Those who incessantly underestimate people definitely experience an incident that would make them want to plead everyone to be careful when they had been offended in life. It is our own detriment that we underestimate the might of small and simple things.

I will never forget the incident when a very senior officer was threatened by the influential person, with dire consequences who had come to him, with recommendations from some political person, where I too happened to be sitting in his chamber.

It is an admitted fact that the recommendations of political or influential persons only come when the work is illegal and not within the framework of rules and regulations.

The bureaucrat, a close friend of mine, sitting across the table flatly refused with a word that he could accommodate for speed up the licence only after completion of minimum required formalities under the rules and regulations. Refusing to listen to what was said; the person left the chamber uttering irrelevant words.

Later, I was told that the person is need of a heavy vehicle licence which could only be given to person having minimum middle pass qualification, as per the latest notification by the highest law making agency in the country – Parliament.

It happened so that after three years, he was shifted as ADC(Development) where sanction to number of development projects with handsome subsidy up to 35 percent is within his competency. Unfortunately, again I happen to be sitting in his office when the same person with an application for installing of a project on his agriculture land entered the room. Without uttering a word and reminding him what he has done with him when he had come to him earlier, he asked him to sit down. After examining the documents, he said, gentleman, I have enquired about you and you have a vision and means also. If you really want to do start some production unit and generate employment in the area, with additional financial help from the bank, I can get you the loan for starting the same but without subsidy. In fact, yo just want to encash the handsome subsidy amount only.

He just picked up the red pen from the pen-stand lying on his table and boldly wrote on the face of the application, ‘sanction loan but without subsidy’.

This time, the person left the office, without uttering a single word, perhaps he understood that do not underestimate the power of a person sitting across the table.

Frankly speaking, the people may think that most leaders can do anything in five years but fact is that one should never underestimate what bureaucrats can do by taking a decision, in a fraction of second.